Official Costa Rica skim info thread
I have found myself typing up general info about beaches and whatnot for skimmers that PM me for it. it seems to happen quite often. i tried updating the "spots" page on skimonline, but it didnt work. that was a while ago though. So i thought i would just type this up once, and direct any questions to this thread. Im not trying to be a dick, i just think its pointless to type up the same thing over and over...
you should still let me know if/when you are coming down, because more often than not, i will be down to go skim.
so here goes:
East Coast:
Never skimmed there. Dont know much about the area. but what i´ve heard is.... its not very good. Plenty of weak-mushy waves... so i wouldnt even go through the hassle of bringing a skimboard if the only place you are visitng is the west coast. If you can prove me wrong, please do so.
West CoastFrom north to south)
Playas del coco:
Really fun straight waves. this is the spot where you will see the most skimboarders. a lot of locals skim here. most of them ride home made wooden boards. and they still rip. you can check out this break on youtube. search a video called "skim costa rica". made by my friend Bruno. Anyway... it works best at high tide, and usually even better when high tide is in the afternoon. The locals say there is a really fun liner that works at the rivermouth, i think during august or something, at the southern most end of the beach. but ive never even been down there. so dont take that as a given.
Playa Prietta More secluded beach, south of el coco. lots of fun waves to play around on. i think it will hold about waist to chest. but then again, ive never been there when there is a big swell in the water. scenery is really nice, and you will definitely get a wave at high tide.
Playa Flamingo about 10 mins south of prietta is flamingo. very popular beach, lots of people, hotels and houses and stuff. but there is also a fun wave. i think the whole beach is pretty descent, but i always prefer the north side. right in front of the" hotel playa flamingo". again, high tide is your best bet.
Bahia del pirata Continuing south of flamingo, is pirates bay. super fun on the right swell (still havnt determined what that is)... so its kind of hit and miss. but if you hit, you will get really fun straight waves at the north end of the beach, and also some fun liners in front of the rock mass thats out in the water.
Playa Langosta is the next beach south of tamarindo. probably the most popular, tourist destination as far as guanacaste beaches go. so just get to tamarindo, and go to the next beach south. at high tide you will see delicious waves as soon as you walk out onto the sand. however, its all rock under there. so you will not want to skim here. what you want to do is walk south, swim or wade through the estuary, and skim some awesome liners that will be pealing across the sand on the other side. this spot only works when there is some descent swell. i went there recently with like a 3 ft swell,,, and the little waves coming into the rivermouth were like maybe knee high. probably smaller. but if you get a 6-7 or 8ft swell,,, these little waves will be some really fun waist high lines. this spot is home to the longest rides ive ever gotten in CR.
Playa Cabuyal Never skimmed there. but ive seen pictures. it looks OK. if you are in the area, check it out, otherwise... i doubt it would be worth the trip to check it out. its a way down south from langosta.
Playa Negra Fun straight waves. they can get pretty heavy. kind of similar to playa hermosa. its a surfing beach, but you can skim the reforms. its south of avellanas. skim right in front of the hotel.
Santa Teresa is all the way down on the peninsula de nicoya. its a very popular surf beach, lots of camping grounds, its a good time. anyway... i was there this past april and got some really fun secondary wave action at the north side of the beach. there was plenty of swell, probably like 8 or 9ft. and i got some really fun chest high wraps. there was also a few fun lines lurking. anyway... if the waves are big, you might want to try this spot at high tide.
Montezuma i was there about a month ago. on the southern beach, there is a pretty odd shorebreak. it will jack up, then when its coming closer into shore... it will just sort of mush down into the sand. so i dont know if it would be any good on a different tide or swell direction. but if those waves hold up, it would have been like chest high straight waves.... its a gamble though. and its just south of santa tere.
Punterenas in the city of puntarenas. puntarenas is actually a province, but the skim is found in downtown puntarenas. if there is some swell in the water, you will have some fun skim only if high tide is nice and early in the morning. you will want to skim somewhere on the beach between the double tree hotel and the hospital. ive had some glassy waist high sessions there. early though, like 5 or 6 am high tide would be best.
Playa Blanca i guess this is my spot. its the beach that i have skimmed the most in my life. its only about 1 and a half hours from san jose, and it can be really fun. sometimes there are rocks, but its usually rocks on one side of the beach. it works best on the last couple of hours of a rising tide. so if high tide is at 6pm, you will get some fun waves from 3 or 4pm untill sunset. its been working best on an afternoon high tide. it can hold a good chest high wave. but there is plenty of small stuff to mess around on. check out the vid justin made, its on youtube, search playa blanca skim... it should come up. also... check the upcoming issue of foreverskim... there might be something in there.
this beach is surrounded by a resort called punta leona. if you can, i would tell you to stay in the resort, and have some fun waves on demand. otherwise... you have to access the beach by the public road which is south of the main entrace. its the next right after the main entrance and its a dirt road that will take you all the way into the resort. once you get to the minigolf/soccer thing... you need to park there, walk out to the beach, and start walking south. you will need to walk around some rocks (best to be done NOT at high tide) and then climb through this path that was made to access playa blanca. right when you come down that little path, right in front will be a stupid little sider. we usually mess around on it, but its kind of stupid because it breaks really close to rocks... but anyway, it works on a low incoming tide. and the straight waves work on the high, incoming.....
Playa Hermosa Popular surf beach, skim is hit and miss. you can skim pretty much anywhere on the beach, its got really good slope, and the waves are powerfull... but sometimes its all over the place and kind of crap. you can get lucky though. we skim the reform waves. there are a few locals that skim there too. if you see a dude with a knee brace, say hello. its roger. he runs some cabins there called las olas. i recommend staying there if you were to stay in playa hermosa.
Manuel Antonio Really fun waves in the national park. out of the national park... not so much. there is a little sider that works sometimes. i guess it need certain swell direction or something. ive been there a bunch of times, but only on the last visit, last week... it was really fun. i guess its the only sider ive connected on here. its on the north side of playa espadilla sur, in the park. the waves sort of wrap around the rock thats out in the water. then a little south of the sider are some really fun straight waves. again... you can youtube it.... or check the upcoming foreverskim. i think this is my favourite spot to skim in Costa Rica. just because its the whole package, good waves, and its also a really fun place. if you were to stay in manuel antonio, i very strongly recomend HOSTEL VISTA SERENA. they have a website. its a guaranteed good time.
now its not as good as it sounds. if you are not aware, skimming is banned in the park. and it fracking blows... but i guess there is a way around it. park opens at 7am and closes at 4pm. so we plan our trips out to where high tide is around 5 or 6, so we can skim from daybreak... around 5am, untill they kick us out around 7. go sleep, and do it again in the afternoon after they close untill sunset.
San Josecito I have not been here, but justin says its awesome. its way south. south of manuel antonio like an hour or so... but you have to access it by boat i believe. for further assistance on how to get there, you may need to contact XsbcX... but anyway.... he says it was firing when he went. really fun. good liners too... but i dont know much about it...
anyway... i guess that pretty much sums it up. i hope its helpfull. for directions on getting to any of the beaches, what you need to do is google search the beach, and just go to the webpage of anyhotel thats on that beach. the hotels provide good directions.
but there is nothing like a local guide, so remember to let me know when you are coming down.
Pura Vida!!!
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Originally Posted by Skim Costa
thats why were all fat
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